Brukenthal National Museum
A genuine European picture gallery on the main square, opened to the public in 1817 — the oldest museum in Romania, and one of the first anywhere.
- How long to allow
- Two hours, more if you like paintings
- Best for
- Anyone who would visit a gallery in Vienna or Budapest
The background
If you make time for one museum in Sibiu, make it this one — and not out of local loyalty. The Brukenthal is a European picture gallery that happens to be in Transylvania, rather than a regional collection with a few good things in it.
Where the collection came from
Samuel von Brukenthal was Governor of Transylvania under Maria Theresa, and spent his years in Vienna assembling one of the significant private art collections of the 18th century. Having no direct heir, he left the estate to Sibiu’s Evangelical Church on one condition: the palace and the collection were to be open to the public.
They opened in 1817. That makes this the oldest museum institution in Romania, and puts it among the earliest public art museums anywhere — a point of chronology that is easy to state and hard to take in while standing on a square in a town of 150,000 people.
What you are looking at
The core is European painting, hung in the baroque palace Brukenthal built on the Great Square. The building is part of the visit: it is one of the most important baroque buildings in this part of Europe, and the museum occupies it rather than being installed in it.
The Brukenthal is now a complex of several sites in Sibiu rather than a single gallery. The palace on the square is the one people mean.
Opening times and tickets
We do not publish opening hours or prices, because they change and a wrong time here is worse than none. The operator keeps the current details.
Official websitePrefer to have the route organised for you?
Guided private trips and custom itineraries are arranged externally, with a local driver-guide.
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